Welcome to ACC Corner, Week 2 edition. The week started with No. 1 Duke being knocked off at home against Syracuse but ended with a 72-70 Blue Devils win over Virginia. The loss was the Cavaliers first of the season and now leaves college basketball with no unbeaten teams. Around the rest of the conference, Louisville stayed hot and North Carolina looked like its old self with two wins. Without further ado, let’s hand out some awards and unveil the new power rankings. As always, feel free to interact with me @LukeTheKid3 on Twitter.
Team of the Week
Syracuse
The Orange came off a disappointing loss to Georgia Tech at home to end last week and morale seemed to be low heading to Durham on Monday night. But Syracuse overcame an early deficit to storm back for a 95-91 overtime win. In that win, star guard Tyus Battle had a team-high 32 points. Following up a big win is always the tricky part and the Orange bounced rival Pitt 74-63 at home in front of the largest on-campus crowd this season in the country. Tyus Battle led the way again for Syracuse with 22 more points. The Orange have won six out of their last seven, and are tied for first place in the ACC at 4-1.
Player of the Week
Jordan Nwora (Louisville)
Louisville has been playing extremely well this year, and a lot of it is because of the sophomore forward. Nwora leads the team with 18.1 PPG and 8.1 RPG and added two monster games this week. It started with a career-high 32 points on 12-16 shooting, including 5-9 from deep. He also added 10 rebounds to complete the double-double effort against Boston College. But Nwora wasn’t done for the week. He followed up that performance with 25 points Saturday afternoon in only 28 minutes in a blowout win over Georgia Tech. Nwora earns our second ever ACC Player of the Week honors.
Luke’s Losers of the Week
Georgia Tech
After a surprising 2-1 start to ACC play, Georgia Tech stumbled in conference play this week. It started with a 12 point loss on the road against Clemson and ended with a 79-51 home drubbing against Louisville. The Yellow Jackets shot a woeful 10% from three on Saturday. They were also outrebounded by 10 and turned the ball over 17 times. Back to the drawing board for Josh Pastner and company, as they begin the week against Notre Dame and end on the road against Duke.
What 2 Watch 4: Best Games in the Coming Week (Note: Rankings Reflect Last Week)
#3: No. 11 Florida State at. Miami (Sunday, 6 PM ESPNU)
In a light ACC schedule, the rivalry in the Sunshine State could be one of the better games. Last season, the two teams split the series, each winning one game at home. This year, Florida State is off to a much better start at 13-5 (1-4), while Miami has struggled at 9-8 (1-4). However, the Canes have looked better recently after a tight home loss to North Carolina. The two teams met on January 9th in Tallahassee, a game FSU won 68-62. Expect another close game as the Noles struggle on the road and Miami has won all 9 of its games at home.
#2: No. 1 Duke at. Pitt (Tuesday, 9 PM ESPN)
On paper, this game shouldn’t be close. But Pitt has given ACC teams a tough run this year, including wins over Louisville and Florida State, and a tight road loss against NC State. At home, the Panthers are 10-2. The Oakland Zoo is always a wild place to play. With a 9 PM tip on national TV, something wacky could happen. Pair this with a reunion matchup of Coach K and Jeff Capel and you’ve got my attention.
#1: No. 9 Virginia Tech at. No. 13 North Carolina (Monday, 7 PM)
Big Monday has been historically great in the ACC and didn’t disappoint last week with Syracuse’s upset over Duke. Both teams have something to prove to kick off the ACC slate. Virginia Tech was off to a hot start but was promptly embarrassed on the road against Virginia. The Hokies have only lost two games, but both came on the road. They’ll look to stop this narrative in a tough environment. On the other side, UNC seems to have righted the ship with back-to-back conference wins. Should be a good one on Monday night.
Power Rankings (Note: My own personal power rankings, not the standings)
- Duke
- Virginia
- North Carolina
- Louisville
- Virginia Tech
- Syracuse
- NC State
- Pitt
- Florida State
- Clemson
- Georgia Tech
- Notre Dame
- Miami
- Wake Forest
- Boston College
Biggest Jump: Syracuse (+3), Clemson (+3)
Biggest Drop: Georgia Tech (-3)